Ventilated car



(No Model.) a sheets-sheet 2.

R. M. PANCOAST.-

VENTILATBD GAR.

Patented Mar. 4, 1890 Wz'irwss 66 a. M 547M740.

N. PETERS.- Fhclomwgnpher. Washinglon. u. c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

R. M. VPANCOAST. VENTILATED GAR.

No. 422,618. Patented Mar. 4, 1890.

Ina/grief.

. by 711:6 UZZZWr-WS u. PETERS. FHoM-Uuwgnphar. Wnhingtom n.c.

' cowl.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD M. PANCOAST, OF CAMDEN, NEYV JERSEY.

VENTILATED CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 422,618, dated March 4,1890.

Application filed September 28, 1889. Serial No. 325,359. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD M. PANOOAST, a citizen of theUnited States,and a resident of Camden, Camden county, State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain Improvements in Ventilated Cars, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates mainly to the ventilation of freight-cars used forcarrying fruit, grain, or other products; but it will be understood thatpassenger-cars may be ventilated by my system.

The object of my invention is to construct a car for carrying fruit,vegetables, or grain, &c., in bulk or packages which will be soconstructed as to thoroughly ventilate the fruit or grain, &c., the airbeing admit-ted throughor above the fruit, grain, &c., as fullydescribed hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section of my improved car. Fig. 2is a sectional plan view. Fig. 3 is a transverse view, partly insection, showing the false bottom applied. Fig. 4 is a transverse view,partly in section, showing the false bottom removed and. the carconstructed to carry grain, 850., in bulk. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view ofa portion of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the inlet-cowl.Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional views of the inlet- Fig. 9 is a sectionalview of the outletcowl. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a modified formof inlet-cowl. Fig. 11 is a sectional view of the inlet-cowl as appliedto the roof of a car. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the door portionof v a freight-car, showing the ventilating-passages continued throughthe door; and Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of the same.

In constructing freight-cars for carrying vegetables or fruit, &c., inbulk or in packages it is necessary to ventilate the car thoroughly, soas to carry ofi the sweat, heat, &c., that is exhaled from the produce;otherwise portions of the load will show wilt and softrot. Cars havebeen constructed to overcome this difficnlty; but in the majority ofcases the sun-rays and heat gain access to the interior of the carthrough the ventilating-open ings and dust and dirt pass into the car,thus destroying to a certain extent the fruit or car,'or at thegrain-line.

produce and where grain or produce is packed in a car-in bulkthe carshave simply been ventilated by slat-work at the side or interior, or byscreen-doors or exhaust-cowls at the top, which methods merely permit ahaphazard ventilation of a portion of the space above the load, and 'donot insure a positive carrying off of the destructive e'xhalations fromthe produce. constructing the car in the manner which I will now proceedto describe, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichA is the body of the car, the frame-work of which is of the ordinaryconstruction. The

outer shell of the car is made perfectly airnarrower than the airspaceB, so that the air can pass freely around these braces.

As shown in Fig. 5, I prefer to construct the car with twoinlet-openings in the shell (I, one inlet-opening 6 being near thebottom of the car, while the other opening f is about half-way betweenthe bottom and top of the Each opening is provided with a door ordamper, which can be opened or closed and secured in either position byany suitable devices now in common use. I have shown in the drawings thedoors f and e hinged, but they can be entirely removed, if necessary, orthe openings may be so fornted that the door of one opening can beremoved and replaced in the other opening to close it; or whereventilation is not necessary-such ,as in cold weather or in passingthrough cold districts-both doors may .be closed, cutting off andpreventing the circulation of air through the load. When the loweropening 6 is open, as usedfor fruits, &c., in packages, I provide afalse floor D, composed of stringers g and slats 9, so as to allow theair to enter to the load below the I overcome these objections by falsefloor and pass through the openings formed by the slatted work andpenetrate the boxes or baskets of fruit or produce; but where produce orgrain in bulk is carried in the car the opening 6 is closed and theopeningf opened and the false floor D removed, as it would be impossibleto pass the air through the body of grain or small produce in bulk.Therefore the opening f, being on or slightly above the line of grain orproduce, carries off the heat or moist air from the top of the grain.

Outlet-openings Z are formed preferably in the roof of the car, throughwhich the air is exhausted, so that it will be seen that a constantcirculation of air through the car is assured,whether in the case ofproduce or fruit in bulk, or whether it is in crates or baskets. In somecases large fruit or vegetables in bulk can be carried with the falsefloor, as the air can readily pass between the fruit and be exhaustedfrom the top.

The inlet-cowl which I prefer to use is shown in Figs. 6, '7, 8,10, and11 of the accompanying drawings and the outlet-cowl is clearly shown inFig. 9. The inlet-cowl E, I prefer to place either along each side ofthe car directly under the caves of the roof or on the roof near theedge, as shown in Fig. ll. The cowl when situated under the caves of theroof communicates directly with the air-space B of the car. Theinlet-cowl is provided with ribs m 011 its upper surface and ribs m onthe inclined surface of the outer sides, so that any dripwater from theroof of the car will be prevented from entering the cowl, owing to theribs, the ribs directing the water down the sides of the cowl and pastthe openin The inlet-openings of the cowl may be provided with a screen5, as shown in Fig. 10, to prevent large cinders from entering the cowland to break the force of the rain as it strikes the cowl. The bottomplate a of the cowl can be made guttered, as shown in Fig. 6, or flat,as shown in Fig. 10, and the gutter guard-plate a may be of differentheight to catch the dust and rain-water, and the cowl may be flanged atn to prevent the rain beating in at the sides. lVhere the cowl ismounted on the roof of the car, as shown in Fig. 11, the inclined bottomplate 41 extends down through the inner sheathing (Z of the car to theouter sheathing a, the opening 02. being formed in the outer sheathingto carry ofli the rain-water and dust. Lips on the bottom plate areturned slightly over, forming a dirt-separator to carry off rain-waterand dirt and prevent either passing over the sides into the airspace.

The inlet-cowl E has sides 7:. 7c, flanged at 7t, so as to be readilysecured to the car. The upper portion of the sides of the cowl aretapered, and in these tapered portions are out the inlet openings Z Z,and between these tapered portions is pivotally suspended thedcfleeting-plate L, pivoted at Z The cowl E has a hood composed of a topplate on and an inclined back plate m. The bottom a of the cowl isinclined toward the car, and at the bottom of the cowl is a dirt andwater separating arrangement consisting of a trough or gutter n, with anoutlet 02. for carrying off rain-water or dust that may gain access tothe cowl. If, for instance, the car carrying the cowl is going in thedirection of the arrowl, Figs. 6 and 10, the deflector-plate L will beforced over against the side 70, having the opening Z, and the air willrush in through the opening Z, as shown by the arrow 2, Figs. 6 and 10,and strike the deflector-plate and pass down through the air-space Binto the body of the car. Should rain-water and dirt or heavy dust gainaccess to the cowl from its greater impact, being heavier than the clearair, it will strike the deflector-plate L or side 70 and flow down theinclined bottom plate n and out through the outlet-opening n Thusitwillbe impossible, owing to the peculiar construction of the cowl, forrain-water, dirt, or heavy dust to pass into the air-space and into thecar. If

the ear is going in the reverse direction to that shown by the arrow 1in Fig. 6, the deflectorplate L will swing over and close the opening Z,and the air will pass through the opening Z into the air-passage B.

The exhaust-cowls G,l place,p1.'eferably, near the center of the roof ofthe car, as shown in Fig. 3, and each cowl has tapered sides 1), andpivoted to the upper portion of the side plates is a hood II, having topplates h h, at the outer ends of which are lips h, which pass over lips(1 on the sides q of the cowl when the hood is forced into either of itsextreme positions, so as to completely out off the access of rain ordust in the cowl. If the ear is moving in the direction of the arrow 1,Fig. 9, the force of air against the hood will move it to the positionshown by dotted lines in said figure, causing the air to pass up andexhaust through the cowl, as shown by the arrow 3 in said figure. If thecar is moving in the reverse direction, the hood will be reversed andthe air will pass out.

I have shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings a number of inlet andexhaust cowls; but it will be understood that the size of the cowls an dthe placing of them in position on the car will depend considerably onthe construction of the car itself and the material with which it isloaded.

Each cowl maybe provided with a damper V, as shown in Figs. 7 and 11 andby dotted lines in Fig. 9, so that the air can be cut off entirely fromentering or exhausting from the car when the atmosphere is too cold toadmit of the free circulation of air through the car.

In place of using a damper in the inlet-cowl both the openings 6 and fmay be closed, gaining the same result, with the exception that theair-space B will bea cold-air space instead of a comparatively warmspace.

In place of the sliding door, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, hinge-doors maybe used, as

shown in Figs. 12 and 13, having air-passages Z so that when the door isshut, as shown in Fig. 13, air can pass through the passages in the doorfrom the inlet-cowl. Thus acirculation is obtained throughout the entireside of the car. Sliding doors may be also provided with air-passages,if required.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, ina car, of the air-space inthe sides of the car with inlet-cowls communicating with said air-space,with an opening at or'near the bottom of the inner shell forming theair-space to allow the air to pass into the body of the car, with aperforated false floor on which the contents of the car are supported,an d with an outlet-cowl on the roof of the car and communicating withthe interior of the car, so that air passing into the inletcowl willpass down the air-space and into the body of the car at the bottom,upthrough the contents, and out through the top of the car, substantiallyas specified.

2. The combination of the carhaving airspaces at the sides with aninlet-cowl at the top of the car communicating with said airspace, withopenings in the inner wall or shell of the car, and with anoutlet-opening communicating with an outlet-cowl, so that thecirculation of air maybe had which will pass through the inlet-cowl,down the air-space at the side of the car, and into the car eitherthrough or above the load and out through the outlet-cowls,substantially as described.

3. The combination, in an inlet-cowl, of the tapered sides havinginlet-openings therein with a pivoted deflecting-plate adapted to closeone of said openings, with an inclined bottom plate and a gutter-way,and with an outlet-opening to allow the rain-water and dust to pass awayfrom the cowl, substan- 4o tially as specified. 4. The combination,in aninlet-eowLof the hood portion, and the pivoted deflector in said portionwith an inclined bottom plate passing into and through the air-space,and with flanges 71: on the bottom plate, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

5. The combination, in a car having side air-passages with doors, ofair-passages in said doors with cowls above said air-passages fordirecting air into said passages, and with outlets in saiddoorcommunicating with the interior of the car, substantially asspecified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence ofv two subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD M. PANCOAST.

Witnesses:

' HENRY HowsoN,

HARRY SMITH.

